Maurizio Conti
The 1966 Le Mans Winning Ford GT40
Entered by Shelby-American, the Ford GT40 Mk. II Chassis P/1046 entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans and was piloted by 'Kiwis' Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon
The Ford GT40 history starts after Ford failed to acquire Ferrari, when angered Henry Ford II stated that he 'wanted to win Le Mans in 1966'. In order to achieve this goal Ford Advanced Vehicles has be formed with the task of creating a cutting-edge GT car - a highly aerodynamic mid-engine coupe built around the 1963 Indianapolis 4.2 liter engine. First prototypes of the car were launched in April 1964 and named GT40 due to the fact the car was 40 inches high. Three Ford GT40s compete at the 1964 Le Mans and despite the fact that none of them finished the race a new race lap record was set of 3:49.4 (131.7 mph).
In 1965 Carroll Shelby's Shelby-American took over the project and some major changes had been made. Most significant the engine was replaced by the Shelby Cobra derived 4.7-litre 289 cubic inch V-8 developing 385bhp. Colotti straight-cut gears were replaced with Ford helical gears, improvements were made to the clutch, drive shaft and the fuel feed system. Much attention was also paid to improve cooling and aerodynamics. The enhanced Ford GT40 made it's debut in the Daytona Continental Race in February 1965 taking first and third place. Unfortunately none of the cars managed to complete the Le Mans the year.
By mid-1965 Ford GT40 has reached sufficient level of development to be produced in greater numbers. In order to quality for the Production Sports Car category 50 GT40s were made. In 1966 Ford finally achieved a groundbreaking 1-2-3 winning celebrate all three podium spots in Le Mans, and dominate the sports car racing world. The anticipated street-legal version was introduced in 1966 and with a price tag of £7,253 (15x the price of an entry level Ford Anglia) was named 'the most expensive Ford ever'. Only 31 cars were produced.
On May 18, 2003 , Michele Conti’s achievements were formally recognized at the 2003 Reading Ferrari Concours d’ Elegance. His son Maurizio Conti, also a model builder under the Conti banner; was in attendance to accept for his late father the “Enzo Ferrari Hall Of Fame Award”; For his dedication to the Ferrari Automobile. This ultimate accolade summed up 40 years of the supremacy of Michele and his son Maurizio in the very specialist field of fine scratch built model making; works of art owned by only a very few but munificent in its appreciation by the very many.
So close to the real thing; a Conti model combines the perfection in the art of steel, aluminium and brass panel beating and welding in miniature, with the detailing in fine leather, wood, rubber and chrome work …..and so much harder than working on the real thing.
Michele Conti in his rise to fame, courted and was courted by many famous personalities, to include film and Television stars, business leaders, racing car drivers, team owners, royalty and politicians. Many asked for specific models to be built, reflecting either their actual car or a car they could never hope to acquire.
His models appeared in the New York Museum of Modern Art, at the Ferrari headquarters and at General Motors, as well as featuring in Museum and show displays, cars showrooms. Enzo Ferrari, a hard man to please, even ordered a model and was so amazed at its perfection, that he wrote personally to Conti to lavish praise. Maurizio Conti followed in his father’s footsteps and was also a dedicated builder of the Conti family brand of fine models, ensuring that the family model building reputation was preserved and developed.
Michele and Maurizio Conti’s models cross the divide between models and sculpture, breathtakingly offering the client both at the same time and as a consequence raising the Conti model to the level of a work of art of fine museum quality and this is reflected in the value even the most basic Conti’s achieve at auction or private sale.
